Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has appealed to his French counterpart to “facilitate the issuance of visas” for Ukrainian soccer fans planning to travel to France for the Euro 2016 soccer tournament.

Poroshenko’s office says he made the appeal to Francois Hollande during a telephone call on June 6.

The monthlong European Championship finals start in Paris on June 10.

A dozen people gathered outside the French Embassy in Kyiv on June 6 in protest against delays in getting the visas.

In a petition to French Ambassador Isabelle Dumont, protesters said 100 applications had been rejected and 1,000 people were still waiting for an answer.

In April, the European Commission proposed short-stay visa-free travel in Europe to Ukrainians with biometric passports.

The proposal still needs to be adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council.